Are two girls better than a boy and a girl?

Since we have so little, if any, control over the sex of our children, trying to answer these questions seems like a useless exercise. And after all doesn’t the perfect family have happy, healthy kids. Yet still soon-to-be parents are notorious for fussing over the sex of their children, contemplating the different possibilities and wondering which combination of kids makes for the perfect family.

The study revealed that families with two girls have the most harmonious lives, while those with four girls ranked at the bottom of the happiness scale.

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Two girls: The perfect combination?

While two girls are rarely noisy, help around the house, and play together nicely, four girls fight and argue all the time, ignore each other, and are difficult to put to bed. Parents of four girls said that they deal with an average of four fights or arguments a day.

For the study, a Bounty research team consulted families with 12 different combinations of kids–although they didn’t include only children, which is unfortunate as it would have been interesting to see where only children fell among the rankings. Researchers asked moms and dads to “rank their children’s behavior within the family unit based on a string of categories including ease of care, compatibility and overall behavior.”

One boy and one girl, which many people assume is the ideal situation, was the second-best combination. Nearly 90 percent of parents with one of each said their children were true friends and fights between the two are rare.

Two boys landed the No. 3 spot. Males play together as children and are best pals, but as boys grow up parents find that their children are less likely to confide in them.

Here’s a rundown of rankings for all 12 combinations:

‘BEST’ TO ‘WORST’ COMBINATIONS OF CHILDREN:

Two girls

One boy and one girl

Two boys

Three girls

Three boys

Four boys

Two girls and one boy

Two boys and one girl

Three boys and one girl

Three girls and one boy

Two boys and two girls

Four girls

What combination of children do you have? What are the pluses and minuses of that particular combination?